Tell Welsh Government Not to Punish Girl Because She Can’t Afford Proper School Shoes
- by: SUE LEE
- recipient: Welsh Government
Please sign and share this petition in an effort to protect girls like this young Welsh girl who was forced to sit in a “cupboard” because she wore the “wrong” shoes to school. Her mother could not afford to buy the proper shoes for her uniform and was punished.
It is sad when emphasis is taken away from a good education because a child’s family is too poor to afford the right uniform, including the shoes. Instead of punishing the child, why not give such families help, assistance and support when funds are lacking. Are shoes more important than the studies this child missed because she is poor??
A 15-year old girl in Wales was actually forced to sit in a “cupboard” or closet, missing classes because she was not wearing the right shoes, according to uniform guidelines. It is unfortunate that her mother could not afford the shoes she needed, but it appears priorities are clearly impaired in this school system when a child is held from classes as a result of being poor.
An Assembly Member (AM,) Llyr Gruffydd is handling this young girl’s case in dealing with the Welsh Government and the school uniform policies. The AM stated that “children should not be punished at school if families cannot afford the right clothes. The Welsh government said uniform policy was a matter for the school. There's an issue here around basic human rights in terms of pupils finding themselves a victim for something that's quite frankly beyond their control. No school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling unable to apply for admission or attend a particular school.”
The child in question is 15-year old Lauren and her mother Charlotte who was waiting on her pay in order to buy her daughter the shoes she needed. The single mom of four alerted the school that her daughter would not have the shoes until she got paid but they punished the child anyhow. Mom plans to formally complain for them putting her daughter in isolation to no fault of her own, removing her from the classroom studies and her peers.
Mr. Gruffydd stated that "There's an issue here around basic human rights in terms of pupils finding themselves a victim for something that's quite frankly beyond their control. There are genuine circumstances, at times, when they are not at fault." Please sign and share this petition in an effort to protect girls like this young Welsh girl who was forced to sit in a “cupboard” because she wore the “wrong” shoes to school; mom couldn’t afford to pay for the proper ones according to school uniform guidelines.
Welsh Government – There is something definitely wrong in your school systems when you will punish a child for not complying to all uniform guidelines because a parent is less fortunate. You need to communication with your education authorities to find ways to help families like that of Lauren Owen whose mother, a single mom was working diligently to provide the proper attire. She even advised the school of a delay in complying because she was waiting on the funds; yet they still punished the girl! Cost considerations and assistance should be available to those who qualify because no school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling unable to apply for admission or attend a particular school. Education should be the number one goal. Help these unfortunate families; don’t punish the children because the families are poor!
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